Insanity is Only a State of Mind
by ChristyK
Summary: The brothers investigate strange disappearances at a prison
1. Chapter 1

Well here's yet another one of my stupid little fics. Hope some of you like it. I'm going on vacation till Jan. 3rd so I won't be able to post the next chapter till I get back. Let's hope the writer's strike is over by then and our boys get back to work…… Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter one

Sam stood at the edge of the bridge looking down into the deep dark water below him. His open shirt whipped around his lean body as the strong wind kept making it hard to keep his balance.

"Son come on down from there." The police negotiator said keeping his voice calm. He had tried to talk jumpers down many times before and this was nothing new to him.

Sam glanced back at him and the lights from the numerous police headlights clearly showed the bruises on his face.

"Why?" He asked innocently.

"Because you're going to get hurt if you don't come down."

"I won't get hurt….I can fly."

"No…no you can't." The negotiator moved slightly closer and held out his hand. "Now just give me your hand and I'll help you down."

"No! Stay away from me!" Sam had a wild look in his eyes as he screamed at the man.

"Easy son…just take it easy….Why don't you come down from there and we can talk…" The man took a few steps back not wanting to scare the man.

"About what?"

"About what's bothering you."

"You don't understand…there are too many of them!" Sam said putting his hands up to his temples and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Too many what?"

"Too many people inside my head telling me what to do!"

"You don't have to listen to them, only me…. You only have to listen to me."

"But they won't let me alone!" Sam sobbed as he turned and looked back down at the water. "They keep telling me to kill, and the only way they'll let me alone is if I do."

"So what will jumping off of the bridge solve?"

"It will get them out of my head." Sam said as he took a step closer to the edge.

"You don't want to do this…not really. You need to come off the edge so we can help you." The negotiator took a few steps closer.

"I can help myself." Sam said calmly as he stepped off the bridge and plunged toward the water below.

**Three Days Earlier**

Dean walked into the motel room and tossed Sam a hamburger. He caught it and unwrapped it as he continued reading his computer screen.

"Find anything?" Dean asked as he sat down on his bed and turned the TV on to a basketball game.

"Not much…actually only one thing nearby. I was reading a local paper online and there's a column where people send in weird bizarre things. Well someone sent in a letter about The Woodsdale Home for the Criminally Insane…it's about twenty miles from here. The letter writer said that his brother is in prison there and he had told him that some of the inmates are disappearing and are never seen again. He also states that his brother swears there is a spirit who walks the halls the night before an inmate vanishes." Sam looked over at Dean. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Dean gave a little laugh. "Sam …this guy's brother is in a prison for the insane….Doesn't the word insane make you think this guy could be one fry short of a happy meal?"

"Hey… you asked me if I found anything….Well that's what I found." Sam turned back to the computer.

"Nothing else huh?"

"Nope. At least not nearby…The inmate's brother sounds really concerned. I think we should check it out."

"Okay I guess it wouldn't hurt." Dean looked over at Sam and smiled as he took a quarter out of his pocket. "Heads you play the inmate ….tails I do." He said as he flipped the coin in the air.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, I hope you like the story. Happy New Year everyone!!!

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter two

Dean flipped the quarter and heads came up….he smiled at Sam.

"Well I guess you're playing the inmate."

"Guess so."

"Well…at least you look the part."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"You know…you look more like an insane lunatic then me…you'll fit right in."

"Very funny." Sam gave his brother a little smile. "So how do you want to play this?"

"Well…I guess we'll draw up some papers and get me transferred from the Wyoming State Prison to the Woodsdale Institute and then after I'm in we'll get you admitted."

"Sounds good." Sam said as he typed some information into his computer and an official looking transfer paper came up. "So what name do you want to use?"

**Later**

Using the computer Sam made up the fake transfer papers then attached a picture of Dean to them.

"Looks good." Sam finished adding the final touches. He then printed the papers and handed them to Dean. "They'll never be able to tell it's a fake."

Dean examined the papers and grinned at Sam.

"Boy we're good aren't we?"

Sam smiled back.

"So that's how you're getting in….how 'bout me?"

"I already have it all figured out. You're going to be some no name derelict…a real lunatic….And I got just an idea on how to get you admitted."

**The River**

Dean and Sam thoroughly checked out the river and found the perfect spot for Sam to stage his attempted suicide jump. They checked the river and made sure there were no hidden rocks or obstacles below the water that would injure Sam when he hit the water.

"Just make sure you jump from the tenth pillar on the bridge, and jump straight down…otherwise…"

"Otherwise I'll probably end up splattered all over the rocks." Sam gave a little smile.

"Yeah, something like that." Dean looked at his brother. "Sam… it's a high jump, you got to hit that water just right or…."

"I know…I will." When Sam saw the worried look on his brother's face he added. "Dean….Dad taught us how to jump, and how to hit the water just right…I'll be fine, I won't screw up."

"Well…" Dean smiled. "…just see that you don't or they'll be scraping what's left of you off the rocks for days."

"Don't worry…It will go down like we planned."

Dean gave his brother a little grin.

"Well you know what I got to do now."

"Yeah….get it over with."

"Sorry but we got to make this look real Sam. We got to make it look like you've been living on the streets."

"I know."

"Where do you want it?"

Sam turned his face to the side.

"Go ahead." Sam said as he braced himself.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Dean punched Sam twice in the face. The first punch would leave a nice bruise on his cheek, the second split his lip.

"In a day or two you should have some nice bruises; it will give your cover story a nice touch."

"Thanks…I guess…" Sam said as he rubbed his jaw. "But next time you're playing the lunatic and I'll be the one leaving the bruises."

**The next day**

Using his transfer papers Dean managed to get a job at the Woodsdale Institute with no problem, they were short on help and signed him on immediately…Now they had to get Sam admitted.

**Three days later**

Dean made sure he was on the bridge driving a van clearly marked Woodsdale Home when Sam showed up. He got out of the van and stood next to it along with other drivers who saw Sam climb up on the railing and look down at the river below. He swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw Sam step even closer to the edge of the bridge and prayed everything would go the way they planned it. Within fifteen minutes the police negotiator and six police cars showed up.

Sam stood at the edge of the bridge looking down into the deep dark water below him. His open shirt whipped around his body as the strong wind kept making it hard to keep his balance.

"Son come on down from there." The police negotiator said keeping his voice calm. He had tried to talk jumpers down many times before and this was nothing new to him.

Sam glanced back at him and the lights from the numerous police headlights clearly showed the bruises on his face.

"Why?" He asked innocently.

"Because you're going to get hurt if you don't come down."

"I won't get hurt….I can fly."

"No…no you can't." The negotiator moved slightly closer and held out his hand. "Now just give me your hand and I'll help you down."

"No! Stay away from me!" Sam had a wild look in his eyes as he screamed at the man.

"Easy son…just take it easy….Why don't you come down from there and we can talk…" The man took a few steps back.

"About what?"

"About what's bothering you."

"You don't understand…there are too many of them!" Sam said putting his hands up to his temples and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Too many what?"

"Too many people inside my head telling me what to do!"

"You don't have to listen to them, only me…. You only have to listen to me."

"But they won't let me alone!" Sam sobbed as he turned and looked back down at the water. "They keep telling me to kill….And the only way they'll let me alone is if I do."

"So what will jumping off of the bridge solve?"

"It will get them out of my head." Sam said as he took a step closer to the edge.

"You don't want to do this…not really. You need to come off the edge so we can help you."

"I can help myself." Sam said calmly as he stepped off the bridge and plunged toward the water below.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter three

Dean's heart was pounding in his chest as he watched his brother jump from the bridge.

"Damn it!" The negotiator shouted as he ran to the edge of the bridge along with the other cops and Dean. "Some one get down there and fish him out of there!"

Dean and the other officers ran to the river bank and climbed down it. Dean felt a cold chill go up his spine when he saw Sam lying face down in the water. He prayed his brother was only faking and that their stunt didn't go drastically wrong.

Their plan was that someone other then Dean would pull him out of the water but when Dean saw that Sam wasn't moving he dove in and swam over to him. He quickly flipped him over onto his back.

"Sam? Sammy you okay?" He whispered as he pulled him back to the shoreline.

He gave a sigh of relief when he saw Sam open his eyes and give him a little wink.

"He's alive!" Dean shouted to the men who ran into the water and helped pull Sam to the river bank.

"The guy must be nuts to pull a stunt like that." One of the cops said as a paramedic checked Sam out.

"Search his pockets; see if he has a wallet on him." The negotiator said.

They searched Sam's pockets but he had emptied them back at the motel.

"Nothing." The paramedic said as he strapped Sam onto a litter.

"Maybe he's just a bum…just a street person." The negotiator said as he looked at the cops. "Who wants to run him?"

Before anyone could speak Dean quickly spoke up.

"I work at the Woodsdale Home, the way this guy was talking about hearing voices telling him to kill….I think that would be the perfect place for him. They can track down who he is and where he came from once he's registered there."

"Probably just another bum who will get welfare from the state. Damn bastards are training the system dry." One of the cops said as he turned away from the scene and started up the river bank.

"If you're willing to run him in that's fine with me." The negotiator said. "Some of you help him load him into his van."

Once Sam was loaded into the back of the van Dean pulled away and headed for the institute. He looked in his rear view mirror at Sam who was strapped to a litter.

"You okay Sammy?"

"Yeah." Sam tried to stay calm. He hated being tied down and helpless and could feel himself start to panic in spite of himself. He figured he'd try and save the panic part for when he got to the institute, it would put a nice little touch on his insanity act. But it was hard to stay calm. When he was a kid he had been trapped in a cave in and couldn't move for hours until his dad and Dean had dug him out. The claustrophobic feeling had stayed with him throughout his life and he could feel it start to surface even though he usually managed t keep it under control. "Just hurry and get there." Right now all he wanted was be free from the straps.

"We'll be there in about half an hour….just concentrate on your breathing." Dean told him. He knew of Sam's fear of being tied down. He stepped on the accelerator hoping to make it in twenty. "You know Sam, maybe I should have played the inmate." Dean could kick himself for not insisting on playing the inmate, but they had always settled things with a toss of a coin and Sam would have balked at anything different..

"I'll be fine Dean…. Once I get these straps off I'll be fine." Sam said trying to convince himself. He wasn't looking forward to being locked in a cell but he knew he could handle it. It was the feeling of being tied down and not being able to move at all that was getting to him.

**Woodsdale Home for the Criminally Insane**

"Well here we go." He said to Sam as he pulled up at the gate and showed his badge to the security guard.

"Another lunatic huh?" The guard said smiling.

"Yeah…the world is just full of them." Dean smiled back.

The guard pressed a button and the large metal doors swung open. Dean drove the van to the front of the building where two security guards immediately appeared.

"What do you got?" The one guard said as he opened the back doors of the van and he and the other guard pulled Sam's litter out. Dean got out of the van and joined them.

"Some idiot who jumped off the bridge. He said he heard voices telling him to kill."

"Well he's in the right place." The man leaned over the litter and grabbed Sam's hair and pulled his head back. "You're going to love it here." He said smiling.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter four

Sam played his part well as he screamed and swore at the men who wheeled him into the building. He was left strapped to the litter as he was registered as a _John Doe_, a name hospitals and institutions used when no identification could be found on a person. As Sam was being signed in Dean took a quick walk around the building. He didn't like what he saw. The building was old and in need of a lot of repairs, the cells dark and dirty. Most of the inmates were obviously drugged and sat around the recreation room in a drugged silence their movements slow and awkward. A few of the more dangerous inmates were kept locked in their cells with no contact with the outside world other then their food being pushed through a window in their cell. Some of the least dangerous inmates were allowed out of their cells for dinner and were allowed access to a private recreational area away from the more dangerous inmates. Dean hoped that this was where Sam would end up. He continued walking around the building hoping to find the cell of the man who was mentioned in the letter to the paper. Finally he found him… cell 205, the name William Kissinger was on the nameplate attached to the door. Dean looked through the small break proof window on the door and could see the man sitting on the corner of his bed, his arms around himself…he looked scared to death. Dean hit the speaker button that was next to the door.

"You okay?"

The man looked up at him his eyes wide with fear.

"I saw him you know…" The man said looking up at the window. "They don't believe me …but I saw him."

"Who?"

"The ghost….I saw him….He walked by my window the other night….He's trying to warn us. He's trying to warn us that they're coming for us. … Or maybe he's trying to warn me…maybe it's me they're coming for this time."

"No one is coming for you."

The man suddenly jumped up and ran to the door; he put his face up against the window.

"Will you help me? Will you get me out of here? I don't want to die…..please….I don't want to die."

"I'm sorry I can't let you leave….but I'll keep an eye on you. No one is taking you anywhere." Dean promised the man.

"But I saw them…I saw them take people out of here and they never came back."

"Who did you see?"

"The guards….They came for them late at night and they never came back. The ghost….he knows…he knows what's going on."

"Maybe they were just taken to another institution or moved to another area."

"No….no …." Kissinger said as he backed away from the window and went back to his bed. "They know I know…..they'll be coming for me soon." He once more wrapped his arms around his body then rocked back and forth on the bed.

Dean wasn't sure what to think. All he could do was keep an eye on the man like he promised and make sure nothing happened to him.

Dean walked back to the registration office. The guards were standing there talking amongst themselves so when the nurse handed out Sam's papers he quickly grabbed them. He saw that she had him assigned to room 307, Dean smudged the wet ink, then when no one was looking wrote two over the three. He had noticed that 207 was unoccupied and it would be a perfect place to assign Sam to, that way his brother would be right next to Kissinger and could keep an eye on him when he couldn't.

"Let's get you in your room." Dean said to Sam as he began to push the litter down the hallway.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" One of the guards asked.

"Just taking him up to his room to get him settled in."

"First he has to shower and get debugged."

"Debugged?"

"Yeah, we got to spray him for lice and stuff. The bum's been living on the street who knows what kind of bugs he's picked up."

"Oh sorry…guess I wasn't thinking." Dean lied; he had hoped to get Sam safely to his room and settled in without having to go through the debugging process.

"It's standard procedure. Follow us, we'll show you how it works."

**The showers **

When they got to the showers Dean noticed that they were already full and figured since Sam was new they'd let him wait till they were empty…. but they didn't. He was unstrapped from the litter then handed a towel and soap.

"Get in there and shower." One of the guards pushed him forward.

Sam glanced in the shower and could see the other inmates licking their lips and leering at him.

"No…" He said backing away. "No way."

"I said get in there!" The guard took out his club and hit Sam on the small of his back. He winced in pain but managed to stay on his feet.

"Hey!" Dean grabbed the man's club. "The guy's new….can't we give him a break?"

"I don't care if he's new or been here twenty years. He showers with the others or I'll strap him down and wash him myself."

Sam glanced at his brother and Dean could see the flash of fear in his brother's eyes. Sam gave Dean a little shake of his head warning him not to interfere. Sam knew he had no choice; he walked into one of the stalls where he proceeded to get undressed. He then wrapped a towel around himself and headed into the showers.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

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**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter five

Sam looked around and could see that the other inmates were all watching him.

"Hey pretty boy, whatcha in for?" Jenkins one of the inmates walked over to him.

Sam ignored him.

"I asked you a question boy." Jenkins stepped closer.

Sam looked him in the eye.

"I don't think it's any of your business."

"Oh but I think it is. You see, I run things around here. I can either make it easy on you…or I can make it real hard." Jenkins smiled at the double meaning of his words. He started to reach his hand toward Sam's towel.

Sam reacted immediately. He delivered a hard punch to Jenkins's stomach and while he was bent over he finished him off with a knee to the jaw. Jenkins's went down hard.

"You shouldn't have done that boy." Another man, Williams, walked over to him. "He's going to make you pay for that." He told Sam as he gave him a shove as other prisoners began to gather around.

Dean was watching everything through the glass window that divided the showers from the hallway.

"I'm getting him out of there." He said as he started to walk toward the doorway but was stopped when Simmons, one of the guards grabbed his arm.

"Hey, this is where the fun starts." He said as he turned toward the other guards and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "Looks like the boy isn't afraid to fight….I bet twenty he makes it out of there untouched."

"You're on." Bracken another guard spoke up as he and the other guards pulled out their money.

Dean couldn't believe his eyes, these men were actually betting whether his brother would be attacked in the showers or would walk away unharmed. Instead of breaking up what could turn into a nasty fight they were going to sit back and bet on the outcome.

"The kid's new…why don't we give him a break…" Dean said as he pulled his arm away from the guard and continued toward the door.

"Hey but that's what's fun…watching the new ones learn the ropes around here. The kid is going to get taken sooner or later so we might as well make a little money on when it goes down."

"Well it ain't going down on my watch." Dean angrily pushed past the guards.

"Leave the kid alone!" He warned the inmates as he stepped into the shower room.

Williams backed off then reached down and helped Jenkins up. Jenkins glared at Sam as he rubbed his sore stomach.

"I'll see you later pretty boy." He blew Sam a kiss then turned and walked back into the showers.

"Close one." Dean said to Sam as he escorted him to a stall away from the other inmates then turned his back while he took a quick shower. Once Sam had dried off he fastened the towel around his waist and walked back over to Dean.

"You better be careful." Sam said as he looked out through the glass and could see the guards still standing there watching them. "You don't want the guards to turn against you."

"What was I suppose to do Sam? Let that jerk make you his bitch?"

"I could have handled it Dean. Just don't get in bad with the guards or our whole cover might be blown."

"Well you better watch your back Sam. That inmate is going to have it in for you now."

"I can take care of myself. You just be careful. I have a feeling those guards can be as nasty as the inmates."

Dean saw that the guards were still watching so he put his hand on Sam's shoulder and led him back to them. He swallowed hard, he felt like he was leading the fly back to the spiders.

"Okay, time for the debugging." Simmons smiled as he grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him away from Dean.

Sam was taken to a small room and pushed inside; the door was then slammed shut. He nervously looked around at the metal pipes that jutted from the ceiling and sides of the room. He glanced over at the window in the door and could see Simmons standing there smiling. Behind him he could see Dean, a worried look on his face. Within a few seconds of being pushed inside the room the pipes began emitting a white powder which sprayed out covering Sam in seconds. He began coughing as the powder began to fill his lungs. He held his breath trying not to inhale too much of it. Outside the room Simmons and Bracken stood at the window enjoying the scene inside. Dean could feel his anger growing, as he watched the guards enjoy the discomfort they were inflicting on their newest inmate.

"Isn't that about enough?" Dean finally spoke up when the powder continued spraying for over two minutes.

"The boy has probably been living on the streets. We got to make sure we kill all the bugs." Simmons smiled back at Dean. "We wouldn't want to miss any would we, because then we'd have to go through the whole process again."

Dean watched as Sam, who could no longer hold his breath, dropped to the floor and broke into a coughing fit as the powder once more filled his lungs.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter six

"You're going to kill him if you keep him in here!" Dean shouted as he watched his brother choking on the powder through the window.

"The kid's tough…he ain't going to die."

"He can't breathe…he'll suffocate!" Dean reached for the door knob. He didn't care if he blew their cover…he wasn't about to let Sam choke to death.

Simmons looked over at Dean.

"What are you, some kind of bleeding heart?" Simmons gave a little laugh. "The kid will probably end up a welfare case…if he dies we'll be saving the state a lot of money."

Bracken walked over and looked in the window.

"He's right Joe…the kid's choking to death." Bracken said as he watched Sam on his hands and knees trying to get a decent breath of air.

Simmons reluctantly pressed a button shutting down the spray. He then opened the door and Sam stumbled out gasping for fresh air. Dean resisted the urge to go to him; he knew he was already turning the guards against him by coming to Sam's aide before and didn't want to do further damage.

Simmons yanked Sam's admitting papers out of Dean's hand.

"Room 207 huh." He said looking at the papers then over at Sam. "You're going to like it there boy…You got lunatics all around you." He smiled as he pushed Sam in the direction of the room. "Get moving."

Along the way Bracken stopped and picked up a blue jumpsuit and a pair of slippers which he handed to Sam. Sam quickly stepped into the jumpsuit and pulled it up tossing his towel aside as he zipped it up. The material was rough and made his skin itch but at least he now had clothes instead of just a towel.

Once they got to room 207 Simmons opened the door and pushed Sam inside. For a second Sam panicked and turned around and grabbed for the door not wanting to be locked in the small room but Simmons quickly slammed the door shut.

"Get used to it kid."

He and Bracken then turned and walked away laughing. Dean looked in the small window in the door and watched as Sam looked around the tiny room then sat on the bed. He swallowed hard; he himself would have trouble being locked in such a small room. He waited till the guards had rounded a corner and were out of sight then reached over and flicked on the intercom.

"Sam."

Sam looked up at the door and gave a little smile. It gave him some relief seeing his brother so close.

Dean made sure no one else was around as he leaned close to the intercom and whispered.

"Sammy, are you going to be alright?... Because if you're not I'll get you out of there and we can forget this whole thing."

"I'll be fine Dean." He wasn't sure if that was exactly true or not but he didn't want to worry his brother. The room was small and claustrophobic but as long as he could move around and wasn't tied down he could handle it. "Which room is Kissinger in?"

"205….right next to you…." Dean didn't like the idea of having to leave his brother alone, not after he saw the way the guards had treated him. "Sam I'm going to see if I can work a double shift tonight." He knew his brother could handle himself in a fight, but there were too many guards and he wasn't sure which ones were like Simmons and his friend. Dean knew he needed to make friends with some of the guards and make friends quick. He needed to know which guards he could rely on and which he couldn't.

"Dean I'll be fine. I'm going to try to talk to Kissinger after lights out and then get some rest; I think you should do the same."

Dean knew if the roles were reversed Sam would be as worried about him as he was about his brother, but Sam was his baby brother and he had protected him all his life and he wasn't about to stop now. It was then Dean noticed the small gauze bandage on the inside of Sam's elbow.

"What happened?" He asked nodding towards Sam's arm.

"They took some blood when I was admitted."

"Why?"

"I don't know…maybe to test for AIDS….they didn't say."

"Or maybe in case some one decides to stick a knife in your back and you need a transfusion." Dean knew how easily prisoners or guards could turn against each other. "Look Sam ….just take it easy and don't cause any trouble." He opened the small drawer where meals were sometimes passed to unruly prisoners. He took out a lock pick and a small bag of salt and put it in the drawer, then slid the drawer back into the cell. "Hang on to these just in case you need to get out of there quick or if you see the spirit." He felt a little better now knowing if Sam had to escape the room he could.

"Thanks." Sam picked up the pick and salt and hid them under his mattress. He looked up at the window and saw Dean's worried face. "Hey, everything will be fine….don't worry." Sam laid down on the bed and put his arms behind his head. He knew it was going to be a long night.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

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**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter seven

Dean reluctantly left Sam and headed upstairs to the main office. He watched as Simmons and Bracken both punched the time clock and headed for the door. Well at least they were leaving and wouldn't be bothering his brother anymore tonight he thought as he walked up to the desk. But he also knew there could be other sadistic guards on duty for the third shift and he knew how guards, and inmates that had been there awhile, seemed to like to intimidate the new prisoners.

"Hi." Dean smiled at the woman who looked up at him.

"Can I help you?" She answered without a hint of smile on her face. Dean looked at her name tag.

"I hope so Miss Deegan. I know you're short on help and I was wondering if I could work a double shift."

"Sorry but money's tight around here." The woman looked back down at the report she was writing.

"I'll take a cut in pay."

Deegan looked at him then looked back down.

"What part of no don't you understand?"

"I'll work for nothing." When the woman looked back up he continued. "Look….I'm new around here and I'm not settled in yet. … I have no where to go tonight."

"That's not my problem… This isn't a homeless shelter… I suggest you sleep in your car and then find a place tomorrow before you report for work. … Now punch out and get out of here. I have work to do." The woman spun her chair around till she was facing away from Dean ending their conversation.

Dean had no choice but to punch the time clock and leave. His only consolation was that he had seen Simmons and Bracken leave so hopefully no one else would bother his brother tonight. He walked down to his car opened the door and climbed in. Just to be safe though he figured he'd take the woman's advice and sleep in his car tonight instead of going back to their motel.

**Sam's room**

Sam waited till lights out then softly knocked on the wall next to him then sat on the floor next to an air vent that connected the cells. He knew his voice would carry easily through the vent to the cell next to him.

"Bill? Bill are you there?" He whispered not wanting the other inmates to hear him.

At first there was no answer but then a voice responded.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Shhhh keep your voice down….I'm here to help you."

"Help me? How?"

"I know about the disappearances and about the ghost sightings. I'd like to hear what you have to say about it."

"Why should I tell you? …And how the hell can you help me, you're locked up too?"

"Don't worry…I have my ways."

"How did you know about the ghost?"

"I read your brother's letter in the newspaper. He's worried about you."

"He thinks I'm nuts….they all do."

"Not me. I know ghosts exist."

"You do? How?"

"I've seen them."

"You've seen ghosts?"

"Yeah….many times."

"And you can get rid of them?"

"I can try. But I need you to tell me all you know." Sam wasn't even sure if the place was really haunted. His job was to find out as much information as possible and pass it on to Dean. Then together they would decide how to rid the institution of the spirit.

Kissinger thought for a few seconds then figured what harm could the new man do? Maybe he could really help.

"I've had friends who disappeared in here. They weren't due to be released but all of a sudden they were gone. I asked the guards about them but they wouldn't tell me anything. All they said was that they were transferred and told me to shut up about it."

"What about the ghost?"

"My friends told me they saw it and then a short time later they were gone. I saw it myself one night standing outside my friend's cell….It just stood there looking in at him. He kept calling for the guards but when they came it was gone…. But I saw it….I know it was there. It came for my friend, and a little while later he was gone."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

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**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter Eight

"Can you describe the ghost to me?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean describe it?... It was a fucking ghost!"

"Well… what was it wearing?"

"What does that matter?"

Sam hoped Kissinger wasn't going to answer each of his questions with a question of his own.

"A spirit usually appears in clothing it was familiar with….or clothes it died in. We might be able to figure out who it was."

"Who cares what it wore or who it used to be! That thing is killing people! It's going to come for me…..It's going to come for me because I saw it!"

"But it does matter what it was wearing. Maybe we can figure out who it is and why it's here. And then hopefully we can find some way to stop it."

"It had a blue jumpsuit on…just like what we're wearing."

So the spirit might be a former prisoner…..But why was he killing the convicts Sam wondered?

The lights in the hallway suddenly turned on and then their cell lights. Sam quickly stood up and shield his eyes from the bright light as his cell door flew open and three guards walked in.

"Get out in the hallway." One of the guards ordered.

Sam walked out into the hallway then watched as Kissinger's door was opened and he too was brought out into the hallway.

"What's this about?" Sam asked the guard closest to him.

As an answer the guard backhanded him hard across his face.

"You don't talk unless spoken to…Do you understand?" When Sam said nothing the guard hit him again. "I asked you a question boy!"

"Yeah…yeah I understand." Sam wiped away the blood that trickled from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand.

The guard then walked over to Kissinger and stood in front of him.

"You know there's no talking in your cells after lights out." The guard spoke to Kissinger who kept his eyes on the floor. The guard took off his night stick and put it under Kissinger's chin and raised his head. "Look at me when I'm talking to you….You've know the rules Kissinger…..There's no talking in your cells after lights out."

"I'm sorry." Kissinger said softly.

"What did you find that was so interesting to talk about that you broke the rules?" The guard demanded to know.

Sam gave a little sigh of relief…. Apparently the guards could only tell that someone was talking but their voices must have been muffled enough that they couldn't tell what was being said.

Sam glanced over at Kissinger and could see the fear on his face. It was obvious he was terrified of the guards.

"It's not his fault." Sam spoke up trying to get the guard's attention off of Kissinger and on him. "It's mine….I didn't know the rules…I spoke to him first….I just asked him what it was like here. I just wanted to know what to expect."

"You might not know the rules but he does." The guard backhanded Kissinger who cried out in both pain and surprise.

"Let him alone you bastard! I told you it's not his fault." Sam took a step forward and was rewarded with a night stick to the side of his face. He went down to one knee and fought to stay conscious. He shook off the blow then slowly stood back up. Blood ran down his face from a cut on his check, the bruise already turning purple from the blow.

"Never…never interfere with another inmate's discipline!" The guard shouted into Sam's face. "And you'll find out soon enough what it's like here."

Sam kept his head down trying to act like he was intimated by the guard. In truth he knew he would have no problem taking all the guards down with the fight training he had but he knew that wouldn't get them anywhere and he didn't want to draw anymore attention to himself then he had to. He'd have to play it cool and hope he and his brother could figure out what was going on and somehow stop it.

The guard used the night stick to lift Sam's head up like he had Kissinger's then stepped close and looked right into his face.

"You obey the rules and keep your mouth shut about what ever you see going on here and we might just get along. You don't…. and I'll have to mess up that pretty face of yours permanently."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter nine

**Early the next morning**

Dean spent a restless night and was glad to see the sun finally come up. He knew the guards were given breakfast and no one would think it odd if he showed up even though he was scheduled to work the second shift. A lot of the guards showed up for the free breakfast then went home and reported back to work later.

Dean grabbed a couple of doughnuts to make it look good then walked around the prison. His first stop was at Sam's cell. He slid back the wooden panel to reveal the small window. Sam was lying on his cot facing the wall. Dean gently knocked on the window and turned on the intercom.

"Sam…Sam wake up."

He watched as his brother began to move and slowly turned over. Sam looked up at the window and gave a little smile. But Dean didn't return the smile, instead he could feel the anger growing inside him when he saw the cut and bruises on his brother's face.

"Son of a bitch! Sam who did this to you?" Dean wanted nothing more then to take revenge on the person who had beaten his brother.

Sam walked over to the door.

"Take it easy Dean its okay." Sam could see the look on his brother's face and knew he had to calm him down before he went off looking for the guard who had beaten him and blow their cover.

Dean could feel himself burning up inside with anger, with Sam standing right at the window he could now clearly see the dark bruise and bloody cut on his brother's face.

"Who did this to you Sam? I swear I'm going to kill the son of a bitch!"

"Dean calm down! It's okay…."

"What the hell happened? I thought once the lights were out and the prisoners were locked in their cells till morning that was the end of it."

"They caught me trying to communicate with Kissinger. I guess there's a rule about no talking amongst prisoners after the lights are out."

"What did you find out?" Dean forced himself to calm down but seeing his brother hurt and not being able to do anything about it was eating him up inside.

"He said the spirit had on a blue jumpsuit."

"So it was a prisoner at one time?"

"Probably. He said he saw it standing at his friend's door looking in at him … And then a short time later his friend disappeared."

"I'm going to try and get a look at the admission records and see if I can find out what might have happened to the prisoners. If prisoners are really disappearing from here there should be a file on it."

"Maybe they're just being transferred to another facility. Maybe Kissinger is just imagining things. … Dean I've never heard of a spirit who killed someone and then actually took the body with it."

"Sam with the business we're in we learn something new everyday… Things aren't set in concrete you know? There are a lot of things out there we don't even know about."

"Yeah, guess you're right." Sam shifted slightly and Dean could now get an even better look at his face.

"You better get that looked at." Dean said trying his best to keep his temper under control. "That cut might need some stitches."

"I will." When Sam looked up and met his brother's eyes Dean's anger returned full force. He knew his brother had a gentle nature and the thought of him being beaten like that made him want to return the favor. "Sam tell me who did this to you….You must have seen his name tag."

"Why do you want to know?"

"I just want to keep an eye on him."

"Dean…I know how you keep your eye on someone…You're going to go after him aren't you?"

"No Sam….I just want to know who it is."

"If I tell you, you got to promise me you'll leave it alone."

"Sam…"

"Promise me Dean."

"Okay."

"I mean it Dean…promise me."

"Okay I promise." Dean looked at Sam and could tell he wasn't convinced. "What the hell do you want me to do Samantha….pinky swear?" Dean smiled as he held up his little finger.

Sam gave a little laugh.

"No Dean, you don't have to pinky swear."

"Okay so who was it?"

"Kelleher." Sam saw a flash of anger in Dean's eyes. "Dean let it go…. We're here to find out if there's a spirit here and get rid of it, not go on a vendetta against a guard."

"Don't worry Sam, I'll hold it together. I won't forget why we're here." Dean knew he had to get out of the cell block before someone saw him and wondered why he was talking to a prisoner. "Try to stay out of trouble Sammy."

"You do too Dean….I mean it." Sam said when he saw the little smirk on his brother's face.

"Don't worry…I will." Dean walked away knowing that even though he promised Sam he wouldn't go after the guard who had hurt him there was no way he was going to let Kelleher get away with what he did to his brother, no way.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter ten

**Later**

Dean walked back to the lunch room where the third shift crew was just finishing up their breakfast. He walked up to the counter and grabbed two more doughnuts and a cup of coffee then walked back through the aisle looking at the name tags on the guards' shirts as he walked past. He finally spotted Kelleher. He was a tall man almost as big as his brother but easily out weighed Sam by at least a hundred pounds. He was sitting at a table with four other guards laughing and joking with each other.

Dean sat at a table behind him biding his time. After about ten minutes Kelleher got up to leave and Dean made his move. As Kelleher walked by Dean's table he stuck out his foot and tripped him. As soon as he went down Dean got up and deliberately tripped over Kelleher kicking him in his face and pouring the hot coffee all over his chest.

"Arghhhh!" Kelleher screamed in pain.

"Sorry." Dean said reaching down to offer Kelleher his hand. But as he pulled him up he pretended to loose his balance and fell on Kelleher hitting him in his mouth with his elbow. Kelleher lay on the floor blood pouring from both his nose and mouth.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Dean said standing up.

"You broke my nose you clumsy son of a bitch!" Kelleher screamed as he held both hands up to his nose. "Get the hell out of here!" He shouted as Dean once more reached down to help him up.

"Sorry." Dean smiled to himself as he walked away satisfied that he had at least paid Kelleher back a little for the beating he had given to Sam.

**The cell block**

Sam was sitting on his bed when his cell door along with the others on the block opened.

"Time for breakfast." A guard said as he stood back and waited for Sam to leave his cell. Sam walked out into the hallway then stood with some of the other prisoners his back against the wall. The guard walked over to Sam and looked at his beaten face.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I fell." Sam lied. He knew enough about prisons to know to keep his mouth shut.

"Looks like you took a pretty nasty fall son." The older guard said. He leaned in close to Sam. "Did one of the guards do this to you?" He whispered.

Sam looked at the guard and could see a hint of kindness in his eyes. He glanced at his name tag. It wouldn't hurt to have a guard on his side.

"No sir…like I said…I fell."

The guard gave a sad smile. He had been working long enough to know that the way to survive prison was to keep your mouth shut and he wasn't about to keep questioning his prisoner in front of other prisoners and guards.

"Okay everybody we're going for breakfast." He raised his voice so the other prisoners could hear him. "I want everyone to stay in a single file and follow the guard at the front of the line."

As they walked to the dining hall Sam walked close to Kissinger who was walking in front of him.

"So how many people actually have disappeared from here?"

Kissinger looked around nervously.

"You shouldn't be talking to me…Look what happened last time you did."

"Yeah, but that was after lights out…no one's paying attention…Just tell me how many and what their cell numbers were."

"Three that I know of."

"Do you know what cells they were in?"

"314, 418 and 207….the cell you're in."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter eleven

They continued walking toward the dining hall and soon ran into Kelleher who was being helped out of the room by two guards. Sam gave his head a little shake, he knew his brother more then likely had something to do with the condition of the guard's face. He couldn't keep the slight smile from his face…the guard's face looked worse then his.

"What the hell you smiling about boy?" Kelleher growled as he walked by Sam.

Sam looked straight ahead and said nothing. He knew if he said what he really wanted to they'd be suspicious of Dean so he kept his mouth shut.

The prisoners were led up to the serving line then to the long rows of tables. Sam sat next to Kissinger.

"You said you saw the spirit looking in the cell of one of the men shortly before he disappeared. What happened after that?"

"What happened after that is that he started screaming for the guards…and I did too. They finally came but the thing was gone."

"Then what happened."

"They told us to shut up and they put the shutters over the window so we couldn't see out in the hall anymore. About half an hour later I heard Joe screaming his head off, then nothing. The next day he was gone."

"Did you ask the guards what happened to him?"

"Yeah…they told me he was transferred and to mind my own business and to only worry about myself. … They came for us at breakfast and he was gone. They never said another word about it."

"Well there has to be some kind of record about him being transferred."

"The odd thing is…all three men were listed as John Does…. no one ever knew who they really were. They were all brought in off the street with no ID on them." Kissinger looked up at Sam. "Just like you."

Sam looked back at him.

"Well I'm not planning on going missing."

"Neither were they."

"You sure these guys were all John Does?"

"As far as I know, yeah…They were all bums they found causing trouble on the streets."

Kissinger glanced over at Sam.

"Sorry…no offense."

"Oh don't worry; it takes a little more then that to offend me."

Kissinger looked toward the door and gave a little laugh.

"Did you see Kelleher? Looks like the asshole got what was coming to him."

"Yeah." Sam smiled. "He sure did."

"He's one mean son of a bitch, always picking on prisoners who can't fight back."

"Hasn't anyone ever reported him?"

"Yeah once. The prisoner who reported him was later found hanging from a sheet in his cell."

**Later - 2****nd**** shift**

Once he was alone on Sam's cell block Dean walked over to his brother's cell and looked in through the small window. Sam was on his bed his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling.

"Hey." Dean grinned when he saw that he had startled Sam and made him jump.

Sam got up and walked over to the door.

"Very funny."

"I thought so."

"Hey I thought I told you to leave Kellerher alone."

"Sorry Sam, the opportunity presented itself and I couldn't resist." When Dean saw Sam's worried look he added. "Don't worry, he has no idea it was intentional."

"You better hope so. Kissinger said he's a mean son of a bitch so you better watch your back."

"I always do." Dean smiled but then turned serious. "Did you get that cut looked at?"

"Nah….it'll be okay." When Sam saw the look on Dean's face he added. "It will…it's not that bad."

"If you say so….What did you learn from Kissinger?"

"He said all the men who disappeared were brought in as John Does…no identification on them."

"John Does? I never heard of a spirit singling out John Does….Unless maybe he was killed by one."

"Could be. He also said he heard the prisoner screaming for the guards and he looked out in the hallway and saw the spirit standing at the guy's door. But when the guards came it was gone. He said the guards shut the door windows and told them to shut up…. Then a short time later he heard noise in the hallway and the next day the prisoner was gone and when he questioned the guards they said he was transferred."

"They wouldn't transfer a prisoner at night. First shift always does that."

"I know…..Dean if you can get into the records maybe you can find out something about the John Does and see if there are any other ones here, we should try to keep an eye on them."

"You're checked in as a John Doe Sam." Dean looked worried. "You better keep that salt on you at all times just in case."

"Believe me, after talking to Kissinger I filled my pockets with it."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity if Only a State of Mind**

Chapter twelve

Dean walked back to the main office satisfied that at least for now his brother was okay. He was glad to see that only one nurse was in the office, but unfortunately it was the same women who he had dealt with the night before. He had to think of someway to get her out of the office. He snuck into the women's bathroom when he was sure no one was in it. Once inside he grabbed a bunch of paper towels and put them in the wastebasket, he then found a cigarette stub in one of the ashtrays and lit it then dropped it in the wastebasket. It was crude but effective. He then left and quickly walked back toward the office. Dean walked up to the desk and held out a twenty dollar bill.

"Could I bother you for some ones?… The soda machine won't take twenties." He asked casually.

Deegan looked up annoyed.

"This isn't a bank….you want change, go there."

Dean suddenly turned around and sniffed the air.

"Do you smell something burning?"

The woman looked around and saw a thin trail of smoke coming out from under the ladies room door.

"Those damn janitors keep smoking in the bathroom." She said as she got up and grabbed a small fire extinguisher off her wall. "Watch my desk."

"Sure thing."

Dean waited till she walked away then quickly walked around her desk to her computer. He quickly typed in admissions and then stuck a backup disk into the computer. He nervously looked around as the computer backed up the information onto the desk.

"Come on, come on, come on…." He kept repeating. He knew the nurse would be back in no time.

Finally he heard the backup stop running and quickly removed the disk then put it in his pocket. Tonight he'd go through it and see what he could find. He managed to get around her desk and safely to the other side just as Deegan came out of the bathroom.

"One of these days those bastards are going to burn this place down." She mumbled angrily as she sat back down.

"Some day they probably will." Dean said as he walked away.

**Later**

Dean finished out his shift then headed back to his motel. He had checked on Sam off and on throughout the night and he seemed fine. Soon it would be lights out and there would be no reason for any of the guards to bother his brother.

As soon as he got to the motel he took out the disk and inserted it into the computer. He then downloaded the information and began looking through the admission records. He found six prisoners listed as John Does, three of them had red check marks next to their names with the word transfer next to it. When he clicked on the checked files he realized that all the info on them had been deleted. It was as if they never existed. He then clicked on the active files of the other John Does. All that was listed was their approximate age, health, and blood types. But one thing he did find was that another John Doe was on Sam's cell block, in fact he was right across the hall from his brother.

**Sam's cell**

Sam had only been asleep for about an hour when he was startled out of his sleep by a terrified scream coming from the hallway. He jumped out of bed and ran to the door and looked out the window. He could see a glowing form standing across the hallway looking into one of the cells.

"Get away from me!" A man's voice screamed from the cell. "Leave me alone!"

Sam ran back to his bed and got the lock pick Dean had given him. He had the door open in seconds. He then reached in his pocket for the salt as he crossed the hallway and stood behind the spirit.

"Hey!" He shouted causing the spirit to turn around. For a moment he was taken back by the sad expression on the spirit's face. He hesitated for a second as he looked at the spirit and saw that it had what appeared to be a hole in the middle of it. He wondered what it meant but he knew he didn't have time to analyze the situation; he knew he had to get rid of it before it harmed the man. He quickly tossed the salt onto the spirit and it vanished immediately. He knew the salt would rid him of the spirit for now but that it could return later. Sam pressed the speaker on the man's door.

"It's okay…it's gone."

"What the hell was that thing?" The man sat on the bed his eyes wide, his back pressed against the wall.

Before Sam could answer him three guards came running into the hallway.

"What the hell are you doing out of your cell?"

"I…uh….well…I…." Sam stammered trying to think up a reasonable answer.

"How the hell did you get out?"

The guards walked toward Sam each one slowly taking out their night sticks.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter thirteen

**The next day**

The next day Dean came in early for breakfast then once more headed down to Sam's cell. He turned on the speaker and pushed back the shutter to reveal the small window in the door. When he looked inside he felt a cold chill go up his spine when he didn't see his brother. Dean knew Sam wasn't at breakfast because the prisoners always ate after the guards and the guards were still eating. Did he get sick and was taken to the infirmary he wondered? He left Sam's cell block and hurried to the infirmary… but Sam wasn't there. He tried not to panic as he ran upstairs to the office. He was glad to see that Deegan, the unfriendly nurse, wasn't there, but instead a younger friendlier looking nurse was.

"Hi." Dean gave her his most charming smile.

"Hi." She smiled back.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to the prisoner in cell 207?"

The girl looked through her records.

"207….let me see…." She continued paging through the incident reports from the night before. "Oh here it is….." She looked back up at Dean. "It seems the prisoner somehow had gotten out of his cell. He was taken to solitary as punishment."

"I'm sorry I'm new here could you tell me where that is?"

"It's in the basement."

When Dean started to walk away she quickly added.

"The basement is off limits. No one is allowed down there but the guards that work there."

"Oh." Dean turned around.

"Is there a problem? Do you need to talk to one of the officers in charge?"

"No….no problem at all….The prisoner was on my cell block and I just wondered what happened to him." Dean said as he walked away.

He knew rules or no rules there was no way they were going to keep him from finding his brother. He found the stairs that led to the basement and quickly descended them. The hallway was dark and Dean went from room to room turning the light switch on that was outside the door and looking into each of the locked rooms. Most of the rooms were empty but a few of them had prisoners in them. Most of the prisoners were either lying or sitting on their cots and glanced up when the light was turned on. Some of them were obviously mentally disturbed and rushed toward the door cursing and kicking at the door till Dean turned the light off. Dean finally found Sam's room. He felt a sharp pain in his heart when he saw Sam lying on the floor in the cold room a straightjacket wrapped around his chest making it impossible for him to move his arms. Dean could feel the anger building inside him when he saw the fresh bruises on his brother's face.

He reached in his pocket for the lock pick. He no longer cared about finding the spirit or getting caught; all he cared about was getting Sam out of there. He picked the lock, entered the cell, and knelt down next to his brother.

"Sammy?" He said softly as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

Sam moaned softly then suddenly his eyes flew open and he began to panic when he realized he couldn't move his arms.

"No!...No!..." He began to frantically struggle to free himself.

"Easy Sam…easy."

"Dean?" Sam looked into his brother's face and Dean could see the wild look in his eyes. He knew Sam was a little claustrophobic and being strapped in a straightjacket was probably his worse nightmare.

"Take it easy Sammy." Dean tried to calm his brother down as he began to unstrap him. "Damn it!" He swore softly to himself. Why did they always have to settle things with a coin toss? He knew his brother couldn't stand being tied down and he knew he should have played the inmate instead of Sam just in case something like this happened. But Sam had insisted on doing it, and now his worse fear of being tied down was being realized.

"Hurry Dean….get this thing off me!" Tears filled Sam's eyes as he tried his best to calm down, he knew struggling only made the straps tighter.

"What happened Sam?" Dean asked trying to keep his brother's mind off of the jacket as he worked to untie him.

"I saw it Dean…I saw the spirit."

"So it is real….But how did you end up here?"

"I broke out of my cell and salted it, but the guards caught me."

"What was it doing?"

"It was looking in the cell across from mine…. I think it's coming for him Dean, we got to stop it."

"Sam I looked at the admission records. The cell across from yours is a John Doe too."

"What the hell's going on Dean?"

"I don't know…but there were three John Does on the list that had all their information deleted, they all had transferred written next to their cell numbers." Dean looked at his brother. "I don't like it Sam….I'm getting you out of here."

"Dean we can't just leave….something's going on here and we got to stop it."

"It's getting too dangerous, something weird's happening and …"

Dean's sentence was suddenly interrupted.

"What the hell's going on here?" A guard's voice boomed from the doorway.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter fourteen

Dean stood up protectively in front of Sam and glared at the guard.

"This man has been beaten…he should be in the infirmary …not in solitary."

The guard glanced over at Sam then looked back at Dean..

"I only work here buddy…I didn't bring him down here, and I certainly didn't beat him."

"Well I'm taking him up to infirmary." Dean once more knelt next to his brother and continued unstrapping the straightjacket.

"You better check first with the guard that admitted him here. I don't want to get in trouble for releasing a prisoner to unauthorized personnel."

"I'll take responsibility for him."

"I can't just let you take him. Bronson will have my ass."

"Bronson huh?" Dean knew the guard. He was big and mean but Dean never saw him abusing a prisoner, but that didn't mean he didn't. "Don't worry….like I said I'll take responsibility for him."

Dean finished unstrapping Sam from the straightjacket then helped him up. He then led him into the hallway and over to an elevator to take him upstairs to the infirmary.

"You know you're going to get in trouble for this." Sam said as they entered the elevator. "If Bronson finds out you let me out of there he's going to come gunning for you."

"That's why I'm getting you out of here Sam. If I get fired there's going to be no one to watch your back."

"I can't leave now that we know there is definitely a spirit involved."

"Sam who ever beat you like this isn't going to be very happy that you're out of solitary. He could come after you again and toss you back in there."

"That's a chance I'll have to take."

"Well I don't like it. We're getting out of here."

"Dean we can't just leave. That thing is going to kill someone else if we do."

"And if we don't go… one of these guards just might kill you."

"I'll take that chance."

"Yeah, well I won't."

"Dean…"

"Sam you almost lost it back there in that straightjacket. It could happen again…What if they stick you back in one and I'm not around to get you out? Did you ever think of that?"

"I'll be okay." Sam said more to convince himself then Dean. The thought of being back in the straightjacket terrified him but he couldn't just leave without finishing what they came for.

"So you want to go through that again?"

"Dean I can handle it."

"Damn it Sammy."

"Hey…I got you to watch my back." Sam gave a small smile.

"Not if I get fired you won't."

"Well then just don't get fired."

"Easier said then done Sam. I busted you out of solitary….the guard that put you there isn't going to be happy….and if he reports me…."

Before Sam could answer him the door to the elevator opened and two guards stood in front of them, one of them Bronson.

"What the hell's going on here?" Bronson glared back and forth between Dean and Sam. "That inmate broke out of his cell last night and I put him in solitary. What's he doing out here?"

"I noticed he was out of his cell when I was making my rounds and I went looking for him. The nurse on duty told me he was in solitary."

"And that's where he should be….He tried to escape."

"How did he get all these bruises? … Looks like someone worked him over pretty good."

"The son of a bitch tried to escape! He put up a fight and we had to subdue him!"

"Well he should have been taken to the infirmary and that's just where I'm taking him." Dean grabbed Sam's arm and started leading him to the infirmary but was stopped when Bronson grabbed him by his shoulder.

"What gives you the right to take my prisoner?" Bronson asked Dean.

Dean glanced down at Bronson's hand then looked up into his eyes.

"You better remove that hand or you're going to lose it."

When Bronson saw the look in Dean's eyes he knew he wasn't kidding and quickly dropped his hand.

"What the hell's going on between you and this prisoner?" He asked suspiciously.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter fifteen

"What the hell's that suppose to mean?" Dean shot back at Bronson.

"Some of the other guards have been saying that you seem to be overprotective of this prisoner. "Why's that? Are you sweet on him or something?" The guard gave Dean a smile.

"He just reminds me of someone."

"And who's that?"

"My little brother."

"Well this kid ain't your little brother buddy, and you better learn that quick. This kid would rather shove a knife in your kidney then talk to you. I heard them say he was hearing voices telling him to kill just before he jumped from that bridge. Well I've had lunatics like him in here before. They seem all nice and quiet, and then the next minute they stab you in the throat with a plastic kitchen knife that they swiped from the mess hall. Now I know you're new here and you got to learn our ways, but you better learn them quick. If a senior officer decides that a prisoner belongs in solitary then that's where he belongs and we're not going to have no transfer officer telling us different."

"This man was beaten and needs medical care, and there's no law in any of your books that says he goes to solitary without first receiving medical care." Dean wasn't about to back down, there was no way he was going to let them put Sam back in solitary with or without medical care.

Bronson knew Dean was right and arguing with him wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Okay…we'll take him to the infirmary, but then when he's released he goes back to solitary." Bronson glared at Dean. "You better learn your place here buddy and learn it quick. The seasoned guards aren't going to take too kindly to a newbie coming in here stirring up trouble." Bronson grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him away from Dean then began to lead him down the hallway to the infirmary.

"Just going by the book buddy." Dean said as he followed him down the hallway. He didn't trust Bronson and wasn't about to leave him alone with Sam.

"Well we make our own rules here and the sooner you learn them the better."

"And I guess your rules include refusing medical treatment to a prisoner who was obviously beaten."

"The prisoner tried to escape…What are we suppose to do, take him out to a movie?"

"You're suppose to restrain him with as little injury as possible. This man was clearly beaten and should have been taken directly to the infirmary."

"Well maybe he's learned his lesson this time and won't try escaping again." Bronson turned Sam over to the guards at the infirmary then glared at Dean. "You and me buddy are going to have a little chat sometime." He said as he pushed his way past him and stormed off.

Dean stood guard as Sam's wounds were treated then as he was handcuffed to a hospital bed. He waited till Sam was alone then walked over and stood at his bedside.

"You going to be okay?" He could tell Sam's panic attack had faded now that he was free from the straightjacket, but being handcuffed to the bed wasn't going to be exactly fun for Sam either. But at least his other arm was free and he knew his brother would be able to control his claustrophobia.

"Yeah." Sam answered. "Dean…you better watch yourself, you're not making many friends here."

"I don't need friends Sam." When he saw the worried look on Sam's face he added. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself….So you said you saw the spirit?"

"Yeah, it was looking in the cell across from mine. You better keep your eyes on him. According to Kissinger the prisoners disappear soon after seeing the spirit."

"I'll keep my eye on him… you just stay out of trouble."

Sam gave a little smile as he held up his cuffed wrist.

"How much trouble can I get into? They found my lock pick so I'm not going anywhere….plus they gave me a sedative and right now all I want to do is sleep."

Dean took out his cell phone and slid it under Sam's mattress.

"Just in case….just don't get caught with it. I'll get yours from the car."

"Dean…."Sam called out to his brother as he started to walk away. "Watch your back."

Dean gave Sam a small smile and nodded then walked out the door relieved that at least for now his brother was safe.

He walked out to his car and got Sam's cell phone and put in his pocket. He knew slipping Sam his phone was risky, but seeing the way Sam had been beaten he didn't want to leave him without some way to contact him if he had to. He then headed back into the building to check on the prisoner that the spirit had been watching.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter sixteen

Dean hurried down to Sam's cell block and over to the cell across from his brother's. He slid the window in the door open and looked in. He could see the prisoner sitting on his cot rocking back and forth as he switched on the intercom.

"Hey buddy, you okay?"

The prisoner jumped off the bed and ran to the door.

"It was here! I saw it!" He pressed the side of his face against the glass and Dean could see the fear in his eyes.

"What did you see?"

"The ghost! It was standing right were you are and it was watching me!"

"Did it try to communicate with you?"

"It moved its mouth but nothing came out." The man looked at Dean. "You got to get me out of here! It's coming for me!"

Dean knew he was already in enough trouble and couldn't just release the man from his cell.

"I'll see if I can get you transferred to another cell block."

"Oh thank you…thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…" The man kept repeating clearly relieved that someone was going to help him.

Dean was on his way to the elevator when Simmons and Bracken came out of a hallway and walked toward him.

Dean nodded a greeting and kept walking but was stopped when Simmons stepped in front of him. Dean moved to go around him but Simmons blocked his path.

"You got a problem?" Dean asked looking into Simmons's eyes. It was obvious he had spoken to Bronson.

"Yeah…you."

"Just doing my job buddy."

"I don't know how it is where you came from but here we don't like transfers coming in telling us how to do our job."

"Oh….well then maybe you'd like the State Prison Board coming in and seeing for themselves what an outstanding job you do."

"Are you threatening me?"

"You can call it what you want." Dean pushed past Simmons. "Sorry I can't stay and chat boys but I have some business to attend to."

Dean got on the elevator then turned around and smiled and waved at the men as the door shut.

Bracken looked over at Simmons

"That boy's trouble."

"Maybe he needs a little attitude adjustment."

"Yeah I think you're right."

**Main desk**

Dean walked over to the main desk and wasn't happy to see Nurse Deegan once more sitting there.

"Hi." He said smiling.

"What do you want?" She answered clearly not happy to see him again.

"I'd like to request that the prisoner in 208 be transferred to another floor."

"And why would we do that?" She asked glaring up at him.

"Because the inmate is flipping out and wants out of that cell. He's disturbing the entire block. I think if he's moved to another cell it might just calm him down."

The nurse typed some information into her computer then studied the screen for a few seconds; she then looked back up at Dean.

"You're lucky….I have 305 open and I can have him transferred there later today." She quickly looked away and went back to her paper work.

Dean was taken back for a second; he had expected an argument from Deegan but didn't get one. Maybe she wasn't as mean as she seemed he thought.

"Thanks." He said as he turned and walked away.

Dean hoped the spirit wouldn't follow the inmate to the new cell but just in case he'd still try to keep an eye on him.

Dean walked by the infirmary to check on Sam. He appeared to be sleeping so Dean didn't want to wake him, after the beating he took he needed his rest, and he figured it was the safest place his brother could be for the moment. He still had time before his shift started so he headed for the staff lounge and settled back on the sofa. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the back of the sofa.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter seventeen

**Four hours later**

A bell ringing startled Dean from his sleep. It was the institution's way of signaling the end of the first shift. He quickly jumped off the sofa. He had only wanted to take a short nap and couldn't believe he had slept that long. He ran up to the main office and punched his time clock then went to the infirmary to check on his brother.

Dean walked into the infirmary and over to Sam's bed.

"You okay?" Sam asked as Dean approached. He was clearly relieved to see his brother.

"Yeah."

"I was worried when I didn't see you for the last couple of hours."

"I fell asleep."

"Good, you needed to get some rest."

"How're you doing?"

"I'm okay. Actually I can't wait to get back to my cell and get this bracelet off." Sam said holding up his wrist which was still handcuffed to the side of the bed. "Hey ….did you get to check on that prisoner?"

"Yeah, I asked that Nurse Deegan if she could transfer him and she did. I couldn't believe it….she didn't even argue with me."

"Well hopefully since he's out of that cell the spirit will leave him alone."

"Or maybe it will just follow him."

"That's true…you better go check on him."

"I will…. You just take it easy and get some rest, you look exhausted."

"I didn't get much sleep. They kept coming in taking tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"The usual….blood tests, heart rate….just the usual stuff."

"Did they say when they were moving you back to your cell?" Dean remembered Bronson telling him that he was going to make sure Sam went back to solitary but he was hoping to end this thing and get him out of there before that.

"Not really. They just said they were going to keep me for a few days."

"Well at least here you should be safe."

"Yeah, but I should be out there with you keeping an eye on the prisoners."

"I'll keep an eye on them. You just take it easy and let those bruises heal up some."

"Dean…watch your back out there….The guards around here aren't the friendliest."

"Yeah I've noticed." Dean said as he looked down at Sam's beaten face. He reached out and turned Sam's face to the side. "Actually I think it improves your looks a little."

"Well nothing could improve yours." Sam said smiling.

"That's because you can't improve on perfection." Dean said grinning.

"Get out of here." Sam smacked Dean on his arm.

"I'll check back with you later." Dean said over his shoulder as he left.

**Sam's cell block**

Dean walked over to cell 208 and was relieved to find it empty. Deegan must have kept her word and transferred the prisoner to cell 305 like she promised. He decided to head up there and check on the prisoner and see if he had had any other encounters with the spirit.

Once he was on the third floor he walked over to room 305 and looked in….it was empty. Maybe the prisoner had been placed in another room he thought. Dean walked the hallways looking into the various rooms but could not find the man he was looking for. He headed for the main desk.

"Excuse me." He said to Nurse Deegan who was just about to leave for the day. "I thought you said you were going to have the prisoner I told you about moved to room 305….well he isn't there."

She looked at him for a few seconds before speaking.

"His family showed up and identified him; they asked to have him transferred to a facility closer to home."

Simmons suddenly walked out from behind a wall.

"I don't understand why you're so concerned about these prisoners?"

"Because that's my job… I'm here to protect them."

"Protect them? I thought you were here to protect us from them, not them from us."

"I am…but I'm also here to protect the prisoners from other prisoners and from sadistic guards….like you and your buddies." Dean stared straight at Simmons. "Or didn't you read the handbook?"

Simmons glared at Dean then turned and stormed off.

**The infirmary**

Dean walked into the infirmary and over to Sam's bed.

"What's wrong?" As soon as Sam saw Dean's face he knew that something wasn't right.

"The prisoner's gone."

"Gone?"

"The nurse said his family found him and had him transferred closer to home."

"That's what you told me it said on the admission records about the other guys that were brought in as John Does, that they were all transferred."

"Yeah, it doesn't add up."

"What the hell's going on here Dean?"

"I wish I knew."

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter eighteen

Dean worked his shift as he tried to figure out what was going on. It seemed odd that a lot of the men registered as unknown John Does were suddenly being transferred. Did the spirit have something to do with the disappearances, or were the men actually being transferred? Deegan had said that the last prisoner's family had identified him and had him transferred to a facility closer to their home, and as far as he knew that could be true. But it seemed a little odd that it happened at the same time that he had asked her to move the prisoner to another cell. Coincidence…maybe, but it didn't seem likely. He remembered Kissinger saying that the guards came in the middle of the night and took one of the prisoners away. Was that true? Or was it just the ramblings of an insane man? But if it was true why would they do that? As far as he knew transfers were only carried out on the morning shift, not at night. He knew before his shift ended he needed to get another look at the admissions records.

**11:15 PM**

Dean punched his time clock then hung around for a few minutes by the soda machine waiting for the third shift to punch in. Once they were clocked in he waited till they drifted off on their different rounds. He then walked over to the admissions desk and was glad to see that Deegan wasn't on.

"Miss." He waited till the woman looked up. "I could have sworn I heard crying coming from the women's restroom. I was going to check it out but…."

"I understand." The woman smiled at him. "Would you mind watching the desk while I check it out."

"Sure." Dean smiled back at her.

Once she walked away Dean quickly slipped behind the desk and called up the admissions records. He typed in room 208 and wasn't surprised to see that it had a red check mark next to it and that the file on the prisoner had been deleted.

"What the hell?" Dean whispered softly to himself.

He knew if the prisoner had just been transferred there should still be a file on him. Why would they erase the file so soon? What were they trying to cover up? He heard the nurse returning and quickly hurried around to the other side of the desk.

"No one was there." She said as she walked around the desk and took her seat behind the computer.

"Sorry…I could have sworn I heard someone."

"Maybe the rec center had the TV on too loud and that's what you heard. It happens a lot. The air vents play a lot of tricks with sounds."

"Maybe." Dean smiled. "Sorry."

"Oh that's okay, it's better to be safe then sorry."

"That's true. … Well, have a good night." He said as he walked away. He never saw Simmons who had been standing behind a wall watching him.

Dean checked in on Sam then satisfied that his brother was okay went outside and once more decided to spend the night in his car not wanting to be far from the institution.

**The next day**

Dean once more arrived early. First he checked on Sam then he walked around the building looking for anything that seemed strange or out of place. He checked each of the cells that the missing John Does had been in with his EMF detector. The needle moved a little but not enough to indicate that a spirit was present in the cell. It was then he saw Simmons walking down a dark hallway. The guard kept looking over his shoulder as if trying to make sure he wasn't being followed.

"You're somehow involved in this aren't you?" Dean whispered to himself as he followed him.

Simmons headed toward the basement steps with Dean a short distance behind him. Once in the basement Simmons looked around trying to make sure he wasn't being followed then headed into a room that had the windows taped shut with duct tape.

"What the hell are you up to?" Dean said softly as he crept up to the door. He was trying to figure out someway to get a look inside without being seen when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He started to turn but another blow to his head knocked him to the floor rendering him unconscious.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter nineteen

**The Infirmary**

As the day wore on Sam began to get more and more worried. He knew his brother would have checked on him by now. He struggled to free his cuffed arm. Why the hell hadn't he asked Dean to leave his lock pick? His was taken from him when they caught him out of his cell.

"Damn it Dean where are you?" Sam said as he looked toward the door praying he'd see his brother walking through it.

**The basement**

Dean woke up to a scene out of a nightmare. In front of him the prisoner he had asked to be moved was lying strapped down on a makeshift operating room table unconscious. His jumpsuit had been pulled down to his waist and he had an IV tube running out of his arm.

"What do we want from this one?" A man dressed in white clothing with a doctor's mask around his face and thin white gloves on asked.

Another man who stood next to the doctor looked at a chart then back up at the doctor.

"The liver."

The doctor nodded as he picked up a sharp instrument and made a shallow incision in the man's side, then went deeper and deeper with each subsequent cut.

"What the hell's going on here?" Dean shouted startling the doctor who looked up and glared at him.

"Keep him quiet?" The doctor ordered as he went back to his business.

Simmons walked over to Dean and backhanded him hard across his face.

"You heard the doctor….shut up."

"So that's why the prisoners are disappearing." Dean said as he watched the scene in front of him in horror. "You're taking their organs."

"Just the ones that are a strain on our society, the derelicts of the world. Their lives at least will mean something now."

"The John Does…" Dean swallowed hard knowing his brother was also listed as a John Doe.

"You're a smart one aren't you?" Simmons said smiling.

"How much are you getting to do this?" Dean asked glaring up at Simmons.

"Thousands…..there are people out there dying waiting for a healthy organ and will pay big bucks to get one any way they can."

"So you murder these men to get one."

"Why should the scum of the world live while decent hard working people die?"

"Because they're human."

"These bums suck off of society, now they can at least give something back."

Dean glanced over at the large furnace its flame burning bright through the open grate and immediately knew how they disposed of the bodies after they were done with them.

**The Infirmary**

Sam waited till he was sure no one was nearby then slipped Dean's cell phone out from under the mattress and punched in his brother's number.

"Dean… Damn it Dean where are you?" Sam asked when the voice mail came on. "What's going on? Why aren't you picking up?...Damn it why didn't I get your lock pick?" He asked as he yanked on his handcuff in frustration. "Dean get back to me as soon as you get this message." Sam hoped that maybe there was a good explanation as to why Dean wasn't picking up and that he was worried for nothing. Maybe his brother was checking something out and couldn't take the chance that his ringing phone would give him away. "You're making me nervous Dean…. just…." It was then he saw it….the spirit had suddenly materialized next to his bed. "Dean….Dean it's here…the spirit…it's here…" There was no mistaking the fear in Sam's voice; he was helpless with no way to defend himself.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

I appreciate the reviews, thanks.

**Insanity if Only a State of Mind**

Chapter twenty

**The basement a minute earlier**

"Who are you anyway?" Simmons asked Dean as he grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. When Dean didn't answer him Simmons punched him in the face. "You a cop?" He asked as he unsnapped his nightstick from his belt.

Dean looked at him but said nothing as blood trickled down his chin from his cut lip.

"I can make this quick or I can take my time." Simmons tapped the club on the side of the chair that Dean was tied on. "I asked you a question boy….Are you a cop …and do you have a partner?"

"Bite me." Dean said sneering up at Simmons.

Simmons raised the club and was just about to bring it down on Dean's leg when Dean's phone rang. Dean tried to pull away from Simmons, he knew who was at the end of the ringing phone and didn't want to get his brother involved. But Simmons reached down and pulled the phone out of Dean's pocket. He flipped it open, but Sam had already hung up. He went into Dean's messages and put it on speaker phone.

"_Dean….Damn it Dean where are you?...What's going on? Why aren't you picking up?...Damn it why didn't I get your lock pick?...Dean get back to me as soon as you get this message…You're making me nervous Dean…just…Dean it's here…the spirit…it's_ _here…"_ The phone then went dead.

"Who the hell is that?" Simmons grabbed Dean's face. "Is that your partner?" When Dean didn't answer Simmons shoved the point of the club hard into Dean's stomach. He gasped in pain but still didn't speak. "Answer me boy! Is that your partner?" This time Simmons smacked Dean's knee with the club.

Dean yelped in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut but still did not talk.

Simmons played the message again and listened carefully. He could hear the clinking sound of Sam struggling with his handcuffs and he could also hear something in the background.

"That's the intercom here." He said when he heard it page a familiar name. He looked at Dean and smiled. "Your partner's somewhere in this building isn't he?" Simmons thought for a few seconds. "That prisoner you brought in…..It's him isn't it?"

"I don't have a partner." Dean said convincingly. "It's just me."

"I was wondering why you were so protective of a prisoner you didn't even know. Well that's why isn't it? He's your partner." Simmons stepped in front of Dean and leaned down smiling into his face. "And guess what? Your partner is next in line as an organ donor." Simmons walked over to the man standing next to the doctor and took the man's chart. "Let's see…." He flipped to the next page. "Ah here we go….. John Doe…room 207….heart and kidney." He walked back over to Dean. "Seems like your partner's blood and tissue samples matches a man who needs a heart and kidney up in Lincoln. Well at least both organs will be going to the same man, makes it a lot easier for us."

"You bastard!" Dean said struggling to free himself. "You're not going to get away with this! Someone will find out what's going on here!"

"And how will they? All the information about the John Does we used were erased from the computer. No one will even know they were here or that they even existed." Simmons smiled. "And you….after we take your partner's organs we'll take some blood from you and see if we can find a match. That way you won't die for nothing."

**The Infirmary**

Sam pulled away from the spirit who stood right next to his bed looking down at him. He looked toward the door hoping someone would walk in and that the spirit would vanish.

"What do you want? Why are you here?" Sam asked as he frantically tried to free himself from the handcuff.

The spirit said nothing only looked down at Sam with a sad expression on his face. Sam looked up at him and suddenly realized something.

"Your not here to hurt me are you? … You didn't hurt anyone did you?"

The spirit opened his shirt to reveal a large hole in his chest.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Sam said as he looked into the spirit's face. "You're trying to warn me about something aren't you?"

The spirit vanished just as Bracken and Bronson walked into the infirmary.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter twenty one

Sam could feel his heart pounding in his chest as Bronson and Bracken approached the bed. He knew there was no way to fight them, not with him being handcuffed to the bed.

"What do you want?" Sam asked forcing himself to appear calm as he snuck the phone into his pocket. He glanced into the hallway hoping to see someone who could help him if either of the two guards tried to pull anything, but the hallway was empty and the infirmary guard wasn't anywhere in sight.

"We want you." Bronson said grinning.

Before Sam could say or do anything Bracken handcuffed his other arm to the opposite side of the bed and then put a strip of duct tape over his mouth.

Sam knew there was nothing he could do but wait to see what fate awaited him. He knew his brother wasn't going to come riding in on a white charger making a last minute rescue…. Dean was gone and he had no idea where he was, or even if Dean was still alive. He was totally helpless.

**The basement**

Dean watched in horror as Sam's hospital bed was wheeled into the room. Sam looked over at him clearly relieved to see him alive. But then Sam's eyes filled with fear as he watched Simmons and another man throw a body into the furnace. What the hell was going on he wondered as he looked back at his brother?

"You bastards!" Dean said through clenched teeth. Why did they have to throw the body in the furnace in front of Sam? If they were both going to die, why couldn't his brother have at least been put to sleep and die relatively peacefully during the operation instead of being shown the fate that awaited him? At least they could have spared him that much. But these men obviously enjoyed inflicting both physical and mental pain.

"Don't tell me you want me to do two in one day?" The doctor asked Simmons in disbelief. He usually collected organs every few weeks never twice in one day.

"We can't afford having these two around. Do the kid now…we already have a match for him." Simmons then nodded toward Dean. "….then we better get rid of both of them instead of wasting time checking the other ones blood and tissue type." He sneered down at Dean. "Guess you're going to have to die for nothing after all."

"That's too bad; I was really looking forward to being dissected." He said softly not wanting Sam to hear.

"Let's see how much you joke after you see your partner's organs removed then his body tossed into the furnace. I doubt you'll find anything funny to say then."

The doctor pulled on a fresh pair of gloves.

"Let's get this over with…I have to get back to the hospital." He told Bracken as he cleaned off his scalpel. "Pull his jumpsuit down to his hips."

Bronson held a gun on Sam while Bracken uncuffed his right hand. As soon as he was free Sam fought back punching him in his face. He then ripped off his gag and struggled frantically to free his other hand. Blood ran down his wrist as the handcuff cut deep into his skin as he struggled with it.

"Kill his partner if he doesn't settle down!" The doctor shouted annoyed that the operation was being delayed.

Simmons pulled out a gun and pointed it at Dean's head. Seeing his brother in danger Sam immediately stopped struggling. Bracken first backhanded Sam across the face before uncuffing his left hand. He then forced him to sit up while he yanked on his jumpsuit pulling it down to his hips. He then pushed Sam back to the bed and recuffed him. Sam didn't try to fight him; he couldn't, not without taking the chance that they really would shoot Dean. Sam lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, his half naked body trembling with fear wondering what was going to happen next.

"Scrub him down." The doctor handed his assistant a gauze pad that he had dipped in an antibiotic liquid.

The man rubbed the liquid over Sam's chest and his left side.

"You bastards let him alone!" Dean screamed from across the room.

"Roll him onto his right side….We'll take the kidney first."

"What?" Sam looked at the doctor when he finally realized what was going on. These men were harvesting organs to sell on the black market. He looked over at Dean pleading with his eyes for his brother to do something. He had always counted on Dean to be there for him, to protect him just like he tried to protect his brother. But he could see Dean struggling to free himself and Sam knew there was no way his brother would be saving him today. "Dean…." Was all Sam could get out as his left cuff was removed and then rehandcuffed to the right railing. His left side was now exposed to the doctor.

"Okay I'm ready…put the patient under, I don't want him squirming all over the place."

A needle with a tube leading into an IV bag was stuck into Sam's arm and he could soon feel himself getting drowsy. He looked over at Dean with half shut eyes as he tried to fight the drugs affect.

"Dean…."

The last thing Sam heard before falling into a light sleep was Dean's angry voice.

"You bastards….I'll kill everyone of you!"

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Thanks for the reviews.

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter twenty two

It broke Dean's heart hearing his brother call out to him for help and knowing that there was nothing he could do. He watched in horror as the doctor made a shallow cut in Sam's side marking the area and as a thin line of blood trickled down from the wound.

"Let him alone you bastard!" Dean screamed as he continued to struggle to free himself. "I'll kill you you son of a bitch! I'll kill all of you bastards!"

"Keep him quiet!" The doctor looked up angry that this man was disrupting his work.

"You touch my brother again and I swear I'll rip your heart out with my bare hands!" Dean shouted at the doctor.

"Brother?" Simmons looked down at Dean. "No wonder you're flipping out…. Well don't worry, once the doc gets your brother's kidney he'll start on his heart then you won't have to worry about him anymore…..But just think….his death will allow another person to live. Too bad your death will count for nothing."

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean screamed as the doctor lowered the scalpel to make a deeper cut.

Just as the knife touched Sam's skin the entire room went dark.

"What the fu….?" Simmons shouted.

"What the hell's going on?" The doctor asked. "Get those lights back on, I can't see a damn thing!"

"Where's the damn fuse box?" Bracken asked as he stumbled around in the dark trying to find it.

Dean could feel his ropes slowly loosening. He couldn't see anything and had no idea who was untying him. Once untied he quietly felt his way over to Sam's bed and quickly pulled the IV tube out of his arm.

"Sam?... Sammy…" He whispered as he tried to shake his brother awake. Now if he could only get the handcuff key from Bracken, but he had no idea where he was.

"He's gone…he's escaped!" Simmons shouted as he reached down to check on Dean and found the chair empty.

"Find him! If he gets out of here we're screwed!" Bronson shouted.

"He ain't going to go anywhere, not without his brother." Bracken began feeling around the room trying to find Dean. He finally felt the bed that Sam was handcuffed to and ran his hand over it.

When Dean felt someone touch his hand he immediately delivered a vicious blow to their face successfully knocking them out. Once the body was on the floor Dean felt inside the man's pockets praying it was the man with the handcuff key…his luck was with him, it was. Dean quickly took Sam's handcuffs off then once more shook him trying to wake him.

"Come on Sammy you got to wake up." He whispered in his brother's ear.

Sam moaned softly as he came out from under the anesthetic.

"Dean…?"

"Yeah Sam it's me."

"What…what's happening?"

"I don't know but we got to get out of here." Dean said as he helped his brother off the bed. "Easy….easy…." He whispered as Sam started to slump to the floor still weak from the anesthesia. He tried to hold Sam up as he felt his way toward what he hoped was the door.

Suddenly a flashlight lit the area and Dean could barely make out Simmons standing behind it.

"Hold it right there!" He shouted at Dean.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Dean kept moving toward Simmons. He knew if he backed down now they'd be right back where they started from and he wasn't about to let them hurt his brother any further. He struggled to hold Sam up, the blood from his sliced side making his body slippery.

"You're not going anywhere…" Simmons raised the gun and pointed it at Dean. He knew he couldn't let either man leave the room alive.

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

This is the last chapter. Thanks so much for all the reviews, I really appreciated each of them. I hope you liked the story and as usual I hope the ending doesn't suck too badly. ….. I hate writing endings…….

**Insanity is Only a State of Mind**

Chapter twenty three

Out of the corner of his eye Dean could see the corner of the room start to glow a strange green color.

"What the hell is that?" One of the men shouted.

Dean turned and looked toward the glowing object which slowly materialized into the spirit of a man.

"It's him Dean…it's the same spirit that came to my bedside." Sam said as he leaned heavily on his brother.

"Oh my God!" He heard one of the men scream as the spirit started toward him. "Get away from me!...Leave me alone!" Dean recognized the voice and realized it was Bronson.

He watched as a cord on the floor suddenly snaked up Bronson's leg and wrapped around the terrified man's neck. Bronson's face gradually turned blue from lack of oxygen as he was lifted off the floor and held in midair, then finally his lifeless body was released and he dropped back to the floor.

With the glow from the spirit the door to the hallway was now clearly visible. Simmons and the others ran for it but it was sealed shut and they couldn't open it. They began pulling each other away from the door as they fought with each other, each trying to be the first one out.

Dean and Sam watched in disbelief as a scalpel suddenly appeared in front of them. Dean pushed his brother protectively behind him, but he had no need to. The scalpel sailed past them and into the doctor's throat then sliced across it slicing his windpipe in half. The doctor fell to the ground gasping for air that was no longer there. His assistant met the same fate.

Dean reached into his jacket where he had kept a small salt gun hidden in an inside pocket. He pulled it out and kept it aimed at the spirit. The only people left were Simmons and Bracken. Dean figured he'd let the spirit take care of business and then when it came for him and Sam he'd shoot it full of salt hopefully giving them time to escape.

Simmons spun around his eyes wild with fear as he watched the spirit approach.

"Leave me alone!" He screamed as the spirit floated toward him. He kept backing up as the spirit got closer. "No! No! Leave me alone!"

The spirit backed him up toward the furnace, and then in one quick movement an invisible force pushed him into it. He screamed in agony and tried to crawl out but the force held him in. The brothers watched in horror as his body finally stopped moving and crumbled inside the furnace.

Dean and Sam glanced at each other in disbelief; they had just watched four men die horribly in front of them. The spirit then floated over to Bracken and he gasped for air as his life seemed to be squeeze out of him. It now approached them.

Dean raised the gun and was surprise when Sam grabbed his arm.

"No…." Sam said pulling Dean's arm down.

"No? What do you mean no? That thing's going to kill us!" Dean once more raised his gun.

"I don't think so."

"What?" Dean glanced at his brother as if he had lost his mind.

"I don't think it is. I think it came here to warn the prisoners….It wasn't killing them…these men were."

"Well then how come it didn't save the others? Why us?"

"I don't know….maybe….maybe because I understood it. Back at the infirmary it came to warn me….not to hurt me. …and somehow I understood that. Maybe it couldn't get through to the others."

The spirit floated in front of them and they could clearly see the hole where its heart should be.

"You were one of their victims weren't you?" Sam asked. "They took your heart didn't they?"

The spirit didn't speak but Dean could swear he saw a tear run down its cheek.

"You've got your vengeance….you're free now. You don't need to come back here. We'll take care of things…" Sam told it. "You're free to go."

A few seconds later the glow in the room faded and the spirit vanished along with it.

Dean lowered his gun and glanced over at Sam.

"You should be a medium." He said only half kidding.

Sam gave a little smile.

"I think it only wanted someone to know what was happening here."

"And we were that someone."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, not to rain on anyone's parade but we got to get out of here. There are bodies all over the place." Dean said as he helped Sam over to the door which now opened easily. He leaned down and picked up his cell phone which was lying on the floor near the door. He then glanced back into the room.

"Thanks." He said softly. Because of the spirit's intervention he and his brother were alive.

Dean led Sam out the fire escape exit and to the car. Once there he helped Sam into the passenger's seat then checked out the wound in his side and was grateful it wasn't too deep….he would be fine. He quickly taped a bandage over it a second before the institution's alarm went off.

"I guess they found the bodies." Dean said as he hopped in the driver's seat.

"Guess so." Sam said as he pulled his door shut.

"I feel like Batman….always leaving before the cops come." Dean smiled as he put the car in gear and flew out of the parking lot.

"You always feel like Batman." Sam gave a little laugh as he settled back in the seat.

"Guess that makes you Robin." Dean grinned over at Sam.

"Yeah I guess so."

Once they were out of the county they would make an anonymous call to the police department and let them know what was happening at the institution. They knew the cops wouldn't believe about the spirit so that part they'd leave out. Dean would make sure they'd also check out Nurse Deegan, he was pretty certain she was involved in the organ harvesting operation. Then it would be up to the authorities to deal with the aftermath. They knew there was no way they could hang around to see the outcome, but at least they hoped that by risking their lives future John Does might have been saved.

The End


End file.
